If I Can Code, You Can Code

I went to school to study Broadcast Journalism, now I’m a software engineer for Sony Playstation.

After my freshman year of college, I realized I was an idiot. Everything I had done up until that point was in hopes of becoming the next big TV anchorman. I was my high school news’ lead anchor, a speech and debate state champion, and even gave talks in front of hundreds of people outside of school. But suddenly, after a year of college, I realized that I didn’t want to do it anymore.

WTF brain!? Now what do I do? So I got a bachelors degree in Electrical Engineering, and beefed up my resume with internships, stack overflow points, and github stars. After I graduated Sony flew me to San Francisco, paid me “slightly” more than a reporter, and set me up to work on the Playstation software.

So how did I make the transition? I wasn’t a techy person. I had stopped taking math after my sophomore year of high school (news anchors don’t do math). My dad is an accountant and my mom is an interior decorator. No one from my high school would have ever guessed that I would be where I am today. So how did I make the transition?

I took 2 math refresh classes, 1 intro to programming class, and then just did it. Sure getting started was incredibly intimidating. I didn’t know the different between a CPU and a GPU. I didn’t know the difference between Java and Javascript. Getting into technology is like getting sucked into a tornado, your arms are flailing and you think you might die, but when you get out you realize that it was the greatest ride of your life.

Here is what I’ve learned from my transition to software:

If you can talk, you can code. I learned real quickly that people who can easily express themselves make some of the best software developers. Code is expressive, which means it can be blunt and ugly, or creative and beautiful. It’s like writing a complex poem. I’m convinced Shakespeare would have blown our minds with the quality of his code.

If you can think, you can code. Every day is a different puzzle with software, and to be successful you just have to think. And trust me when I say that it is SUPER satisfying. How can you make your code faster? Puzzle. Where is the bug? Puzzle. How do we turn what the crazy marketing people want into a legitimate solution? Puzzle. After a while you’ll even dream up solutions to the puzzles. I think Descarted said it best, “I think, therefore I code.” Or something close to that.

If you can breathe, you can code. My brother can, my wife can, my ditzy mom can! You might not be the next Dennis Ritchie, but you can have a real career, solving real problems, and making real money. Coming from someone who took the leap, with literally no technical background, I promise you can do it. And I promise you will NEVER regret it.

Come on. If I can code, you can code.